The Black Spider
by lil-sea-salt
Summary: Qi'ra after taking the reins of Crimson Dawn from her predecessor fumbles with the challenges of running one of the most ruthless crime syndicates in the galaxy. Everywhere she is undermined, betrayed, or worse. She holds her ground and builds herself a place among criminals, where she is not one.
1. Chapter 1

Qi'ra watched Han as, _the First Light_ , passed him with the Wookie. The dread of the Dathomirian male knowing of her weakness washed through her. She couldn't destroy him, as she had already lost the opportunity.

She crossed her arms and considered her current options. Dryden Vos lay dead on the ground behind her. There was the soldiers who had dealt with the Cloud-Riders. So many loose ends to tie up. So much filth that had to be dealt with quickly before she would deal with Maul.

 _Han would be fine._

In three years he hadn't thought of her. In three days, he would forget her. Probably caught up with some grandiose plan to get rich again. He was a man after all.

Predictable.

Stupid.

Seeing how much he'd seen of her ruthlessness. Probably not going to approach her for a while. Worst case, if she did find some use for him, she could always use Lando.

Qi'ra pressed on the intercom, "Is there anyone there who can come in for a clean up? Vos made a mess in here that needs cleaning up."

There was a droid who answered. "This is E-626. I will alert the cleaning droids to your location. Inform Vos his office will be cleaned in one hour."

"Vos is no longer the captain of this ship. I am."

"Oh, has the red one been informed."

"Yes, please plot a course to Darthomir immediately."

"Yes, mistress. I will also inform the crew of the changes."

"I need the memory flush units used with the soldiers that were deployed, E-626."

"I am pleased to serve you in any way I can madam."

"Oh and one more thing. Let's have a party. The rise of a fresh face is always the cause for celebration and let's do so." Qi'ra smiled darkly. She wiped off the blade she'd used and walked out.

Qi'ra spoke with more household droids about cleaning out Dryden's room and replacing it with her belongings before rejoining the constant party that seemed to never ebb in First Light.

"Qi'ra," it was one of the Pykes who unbeknownst had somehow snuck onhoard sometime during the scuff in Savareen.

Qi'ra grabbed herself and the Pyke a drink before handing the representative one. "I see news travels fast."

"Yes," the Pyke hissed softly. There was a hookah pipe wrapped around his neck that he would at interval take a whiff out of. Before blowing smoke rings. As he took the drink into his hand, he blew smoke into the smoke rings already hanging about him. The smoke blossomed into a sarlacc that threw the rings about with it's tentacles before settling into a less destructive spin about. "The Pykes and Crimson Dawn have a shaky alliance. Now with the death of Vos, we are re-evaluating our options. You are a woman who is less . . ."

"Neither Dryden or the enforcer of Crimson Dawn has any hesitation of my leadership. Or would you prefer to deal with the man pulling the strings behind the scenes? We are headed to Darthomir after all."

The Pyke's usual green color faded to a yellowish hue, which Qi'ra assumed was him decidinng he would rather deal with a small woman than an unknown Dathomiri man.

"I will inform my superiors of the change in leadership and voice my support of the current captain of First Light. They, I'm certain, will come pay their respects. "

Qi'ra's mouth quirked up in a faint smile.


	2. Chapter 2

_Dathomir._ The witch's planet loomed before them. Long ago, the witches had actually ruled it, but now it was just a planet of the remnants of their nightmares. The party on the yacht was still in full swing with drinks flowing and food being consumed. The whole of the ship had been cleaned of Dryden and now was redecorated to reflect the change in leadership.

Qi'ra excused herself from the merrymaking and entered her office. The knicknacks in the office were rearranged. Some of the things kept in storage had been let out and other of the more precious objects were tucked away. Overall the effect was more feminine and minimalistic.

She sat in her desk and took a deep breath before removing her ring. She inserted it into the slot and turned it. The hologram fickered to life as Darth Maul's horned irritation bore into her new sanctuum.

"You're earlier than expected, my dear. I didn't think you would be so forthcoming in our new close ties."

Qi'ra straightened her shoulders to hide the faint shudder that ran through her at the dark side user's cold words. She had written down her thoughts so if she did lose her train of thought or was continuously interrupted she could remember what she needed to get across. "I'm here to serve. You have bid me here so I have come as your servant."

Maul chuckled darkly. "I don't really like women serving me as they always seem to have a hidden weakness. I'll take pleasure in finding yours, but we do need a face and yours as lovely as it is will suffice . . . for now. I'm coming to meet you shortly to discuss our next steps. I hope the droids still remember my drink." He cut the feed.

Qi'ra sat back in her chair gripping the armrests. Her fingers turned white. She breathed deeply before calling the head of droids. "R-625?"

"Oh yes mam, what is it that you require?"

"Does Maul have a preferred drink or any other proclivities I should know about?"

The droid paused before the door to the office opened and the small cleaning droid rushed in. It bowed slightly before straightening. "There is a full protocol already set in place by Dryden in case his emenence decides to enter First Light, shall we engage?"

"Yes, but change protocol to include iced veeka as an appetizer for our esteemed guest. I had the chef droid acquire some a bit ago and the recipe for it should make it so it is fit to serve our guests just as he enters the office."

The droid scuttled off and she could hear the piping dance music from the main atrium slurring to a halt as the soldiers cleared it out with a warning to the guests to return to their rooms or cells. The cleaning droids did a quick sweep for the halls and soldiers were posted at every possible entry point to ensure the yacht would not heed any uninvited interruptions. A small shuttle appeared on the rim of the radar and radioed in for permission to land. At the docking procedure there was a scuffled that ended with the resounding hiss of a lightsaber being employed.

R-626 softed pinged Qi'ra. "He wasn't happy about the increased guard."


	3. Chapter 3

Maul sauntered into the room and took her face into his hands. He carassed her like an animal assessing it's prey. "So you're my new puppet?"

Qi'ra calmly stood and let him touch her. She didn't flinch as he sniffed her hair and seemed to analyze the quality of her hair. He laid his lightsaber on the desk before sitting in the chair she had previously occupied. "Just because you sit here, don't forget where your true loyalties lie."

She sharply snapped her head, forcing his grip to return to a lounging position behind his head as he sneered at her. R-626 entered the room with a tray of the iced veeked in two crysalline bowls. Qi'ra leaned forward a bit so Maul's eyes strayed from her face. "I thought you'd like to try a bit of _First Light_ hospitality. This is iced veeka, which I hear is a delicacy on this planet that we're oh so close to."

Maul's eyes met hers as he took his bowl and took a bite. She waited a bit for his reaction before taking her own small bite. He groaned internally before his mannerisms changed from that of a man to that of a bit cat, liking the bowl manically as he grew more excited. As the mania subsided, Maul replaced the crystal bowl back onto the droid's waiting tray balanced on it's head.

He licked his lips appreciatively. "I've always wondered the meaning of the woman's touch. It's a different kind of dangerous-soft, sweet, and unpredictable. Dryden did not understand these intricasies but they are not lost on me."

Qi'ra bade the droid to leave before handing over her own half eaten bowl. She'd really lost her appetite, but she was intriqued. "Are they really not lost on you?"

Maul sighed deeply. "We need coaxium. You're responsible for looking for possible sources so we can further the goals that I'm sure Dryden left you in his quarters."

Qi'ra nodded, she had found the journal with Maul's overall plan for the organization. "I am aware of your ambitions and wants for your syndicate. Where do you bid me next?"

Maul's mouth quirked up. He assessed his fingers and nails before sliding his lightsaber back into its place on his belt. Maul leaned over to the disc port and inserted a drive to produce the hologram of a planet. "This is Hoth. There's a shipment of fuel that the Empire is secretly holding there at a base. We need it to continue the expansion of ouroperations in the Anoat sector. I'm sure you're looking forward to a chance to prove yourself."

Qi'ra looked at the locations he indicated. "Alright. Will you be accompanying us or is this my own-"

"I said we'd be working more closely."

"I'll inform the partygoers that the club will be closed for-"

"No, you're first lieutenant can man the yacht, we will go in my shuttle for the mission. We're leaving immediately."


	4. Chapter 4

Qi'ra sighed as she sat in the co-pilot seat in the cockpit of Maul's ship. She was surprised as it was a Mandalorian ship when they had just come from Darthomir. Not that the planet was known for anything beyond witches and a swamp full of who knows what.

Beyond the bright light of hyperspace illuminating the cockpit there was really nothing that interesting to do on board. Maul had busied himself with what she assumed was a sith holocron in his chambers chanting indistinctly. Even if she had something to do, she doubted she would be able to concentrate on anything when she'd seen him incincerate a squad of her soldiers simply because they were around.

They jumped out of hyperspace and the ship lurched as it was affected by the gravitational pull of the plant. Qi'ra heard the soft whoosh of Maul entering the captain seat, strangely calm after the meditation, like he'd been communicating with someone who had cleared his mind. She knew he hadn't contacted anyone so she turned to where he had stashed the artifact into his bag. She could feel it beckoning to her, as if there really was something more than just the two of them.

Maul cleared his throat as he scanned the planet for signs of imperial activity.

"Something's coming out of hyperspace." Qi'ra noted. She ran to the rear window of the ship and was shocked. "There are three imperial class star destroyers." Running back into the main cabin she saw Maul smirking as his arms were crossed.

He quirked an eyebrow. "We're cloaked. They have no way of detecting us."

Qi'ra shook her head. "They could track out magnetic signature."

"But then they'd have to know that we're here, which we are not."

"But they're coming right at us."

"They're going to think we're some passing debris or at worse we can jump a parsec away. Don't forget that I'm in charge. I was trained by a sith lord. You were by a near human who was a fantastic assassin, until he died that is."

"Wouldn't that make you force sensitive?"

"Yes."

"So if you wanted to be, you could become a Jedi."

Maul's eyes changed from their molten yellow to blood red. Qi'ra saw he gripped the controls to the ship tightly. "The Jedi Order was nothing to be noted. They're all dead anyway or crawling in the scoundrel pits of the universe. Even if that was a possibility, it's not worth pursing. Those remaining would never accept what I am."

"And what are you?"

"That's enough questions. What about you? Why would a pretty girl decide to join a world of men? You should be somewhere with humans, living, fighting."

"After the factories on Aurelian were shut down there were too many mouths too feed."

"Oh that sob story. So some criminals took you in and you never quite got back to clean living."

"Maybe I would've had a family and a life there."

Maul sniggered. "I don't even know what that means."

Qi'ra was curious. "You never had a family."

Maul humored her. "I had women in my life-priests, teachers, warriors. I've read of what you speak but, I was given to my master as a child. He wanted a weapon."


	5. Chapter 5

"You could've fought back." Qi'ra said desperately. "You could've become something different."

Maul's eyes met hers for a moment, seering. "I can't choose what I am anymore. I have become it already. To start from scratch would be excruciating and tiresome. If I can do something using this, maybe . . . I will come not to hate myself."

The ship descended into orbit in the planet just as they saw a droid speak quickly in binary. The ship lurched as Maul hit the accelerator. His eyes held Qi'ra's. "There's three imperial class star destroyers who've come out of hyperspace so we'll have to take a bit of a detour before we reach our destination." He landed the vessel on an outcropping outside of a cave before getting outside.

Qi'ra was curious as to what he was doing so she was about to follow when everything on the ship began to scatter about. There was a liquid recepticle before her that was floated. The liquic bubbled up as she herself felt her body being raised a couple of inches off of the ground. Then it hit Qi'ra-he was using the force to push the ship deeper into the cave.

Everything that was floating dropped as Maul came back inside to turn the power down on the whole ship. He caught every single droid on the ship and turned him off the droids on the ship.

"For the planetary scan? So they don't find us." His yellow eyes looked predatory as he assessed the situation around them.

"Did you know they would be here?" Qi'ra chirped.

Maul shrugged. "What's important to a hunter is getting his quarry and leaving before anyone notices that it's missing."

Qi'ra threw on a parka and thick fur lined boots as the ship's heating systems stopped working and the cold of the planet outside started seeping into the vessel. She hilted on a blaster and a small knife. A small voice at the back of her mind knew they would be useless against her cohort, but she couldn't stop herself from taking the precaution, _At least I'll die knowing I fought back,_ she thought to herself grimly.

Maul wrapped himself in an animal skin that Qi'ra assumed served both to camoflauge himself as well as serve for insulation. His light sabers glinted for a moment in the sun reflecting off the icicles in the cave as he put on his cloak of sorts. Qi'ra also noted he was surprisingly well muscles for someone who was rumored to never leave his lair.

Next to where they'd landed the ship there was an abandoned control unit that Maul configured for a bit before bringing up a faint hologram of the plant. He withdrew a disk from his belt and shoved it into the port to produce the facility on Hoth that had the fuel depot. "Our objective is here to infiltrate the old imperial base here and take the refined coaxium in storage. Since the temperature of the planet is so cold, the coaxium in storage here is stabilized for a large period of time. The vessel we've brought has a system on it to keep the cannisters cool until we can relocate them to an undisclosed location. The stardestroyers that you noted entering the system are only here as a byproduct of gang activity of an order of scum who rally hehind one known as Saponza. While the Imperial soldiers are occupied we slip down and away un-noticed with our goods."

Qi'ra quirked her brows. "And what do I get in return."

Maul's lips pursed. "Dryden taught you well. Your stake other than as a figurehead is cold hard profit from me. 3 million unmarked Imperial credits, enough to start whatever side venture you're interested in beginning. You can buy the latest fashion, if it suits you. Racehorses, canines, betting on podraces. I don't care as long as you maintain _First Light_ as a premier destination for the scum and savvy."


	6. Chapter 6

"I mean I can't be the lady of Crimson Dawn without the guise of _First Light._ "

Maul looked at her inquisitively. "My planet used to be home to a cult of exclusively women called the nightsisters who kept the weak men in check. They're all gone now, but I'm sure they would have welcomed your company."

Qi'ra laughed coldly. "The nightsisters? I'm not a big fan of magic or the force."

Maul shrugged off her comment as he opened the door to his room and hauled a pack onto his back. Then he started showing her the way they would take to make it to the base. Qi'ra could see the area was mostly covered and was over rough terrain.

"We could steal some pack animals from the locals and go quicker."

Maul shook his head. "We don't have much they would want with us to trade."

"Where are their villages located?"

"They aren't civilized enough really for villages. They're mostly highly intelligent animals. Theoretically we could ride them, but then we would risk detection."

Qi'ra sighed as she pulled up her hood against the barrage of ice and wind that was whipping up. Maul's breath appeared like a cloud in front of his face. He put on a mask that just covered his mouth as well as a billowing black cloak with a hood before motioning for Qi'ra to follow behind him. They hiked for a couple hours. Qi'ra made a couple attempts at finding out more about him, but Maul for the most part either ignored her question or gave monosyllable answers. He seemed to be particularly cold about anything relating to the Empire or his past.

The more she looked at his legs, she realized that he was amputated from the waist down. His legs would creak slightly everytime they had a steep embarkment to climb or if they needed somewhere to jump through he would sling her over his shoulder and continue. When they would in midjump she would hear the gears in his legs adjust.

The terrain was variable, in some areas there were more rocks than snow and in others the gradient was so variable that Maul would vault over the embarkments. Qi'ra wondered if his extraordinary physicality was a result of his force sensitivity. Maybe it was just his spexies-he wasn't exactly human.

They ran into some wolf like spectres that danced around Qi'ra before growling at Maul. They scattered when Maul lit up his lightsaber to defend himself. He sheathed it before cursing under his breath and continuing on their trek.

They reached a small outcropping where the could see the base. Maul grabbed the scuff of Qi'ra's coat and flattened her against the ground. She was about to protest when he gestured for her to look up.

 _Stormtroopers._ They were patrolling the area around the base. The troopers were riding on motor bikes. Maul had been correct about the idea to not use the native species as transportation. If the had, they would have been spotted easily. Although he was dangerous to deal with, he did know what he was doing.


	7. Chapter 7

They started walking again and Maul lead them to a drain cover in a place that was covered from overhead observation. He hid his pack in some rocks at the corner of the cave before sliding the cover aside.

Qi'ra shone a light down the damp hole. _It was damp, not frozen solid_ , she realized. This was some kind of heating duct. "Is there some kind of security system we need to be worried about?"

Maul laughed darkly. "This is a previously unknown facility. The fuel is only here for a quick stop."

Qi'ra dropped a flare into the pit. Maul briefly exchanged glances with her before watchhing the light disappear into the depths, there was the sound of the flare hitting water before it was extinguished.

Maul explained how they would avoid the water. "I'll go first and I'll catch you." Then he summersaulted into the hole.

Qi'ra could hear his legs disassemble and become spidery as he scuttled down the hatch before jumping on what sounded like solid ground. Her interest was piqued as to how he'd avoided the water. She shouted down that she was coming. As she readied herself to jump, an invisible force jerked her down into the hole. Her limbs were balled up of their own accord. Qi'ra looked up and saw the hole was pushed back as a soldier in stormtrooper uniform lead a battalian over the hole. The sight was brief as she was dropped quicker, she screwed her eyes shut as she knew the landing would hurt.

"You can open your eyes now." Maul's cool voice greeted her. He'd assembled a staff from some wreakage and was wading it into the water. He swirled it around like he was stirring a pot of soup, even though it was in the midst of a stream of sewage.

"How did you know the soldiers were around the corner?" Qi'ra asked as she got up slowly. She brushed the dirt that had gathered on her coat before looking at Maul's reaction.

He banged the staff on the ground to dry it. "I have experience with Stromtroopers."

"What kind of experience?"

Maul grumbled something under his breathe and that was the end of it.

The tunnel was long and convoluted. They got lost a couple of times before they found their way. 'The way' was blocked by a stream of rubble as the tunnel had collapsed over the path.

Maul sighed. "Can you swim?"

"Of course I can swim."

He lifted some rocks and slowly threw them into the water. Qi'ra was confused. "Are we going to swim under the rubble?"

"I would if I was on my own, but there's something down there."

Qi'ra contemplated this. "I think I can remember that the blueprints you showed me earlier had an airshaft that lead to the other side of the facility."

"More distance is more troopers we have to deal with. That's more more chances we attract attention."

Qi'ra sighed and pointed towards the pile of rubble. "We have to go around."

As she turned to the rubble, her finger dropped. The rocks had exploded outwards and were suspended in the air. Her mouth opened wide, before she quickly closed it and followed meekly behind Maul. As they passed through the space, Maul condensed the block again so the avalanche of rocks were back to how they had been before.

"Don't make suggestions." Maul said coldly.


	8. Chapter 8

They neared their point of entry and both slipped inside deftly as a flashlight lit up the position they'd occupied only moments previously.

"I think I saw some activity over here," one of the stormtroopers said over their open com links.

Another one answered. "Probably some sort of marine organism that isn't too happy with us here."

"Do you think it could be a predator?"

"Naw, a predator? You should get your circuits readjusted."

"I'm not a droid."

"Then stop acting like one."

The arguing started to decrease in sound as the two clambored farther away. Maul had been holding in a breath that Qi'ra watched him release. She wanted to ask him how far off course they were, but also didn't want to do anything that would draw back the stromtroopers. His hand was drawn to the lightsaber at his waist, but he quickly straighened himself. He acted like she hadn't seen it.

But Qi'ra knew he wanted to keep her a little bit on edge.

They walked further until they reached a ladder. Qi'ra watched as he vaulted up it. She waited a moment for him to give her direction, but when he offered none she slowly ambled up after him making some noise so she wouldn't be impaled by 'accident.'

Maul knew she was behind him. She was quick and light and docile. Something he knew wouldn't last forever. He was watching from an air shaft the activity inside the plant.

Qi'ra asked him quietly what they were doing. Her voice was soft against his ear, almost velvet. The woman was different than others of her species who would have cringed at his Dathomirian tattooes or un-natural horns. She did not seem the least bit uncomfortable. Maybe she had a soft side . . . well Dryden Vos would have beaten that out of her. Unless of course, she was a good pretender. Either way . . . a dangerous idea.

A monster with a woman-safe harbours were an illusion.

"The factory is not as empty as we'd hoped. There's an secret operation here to refine coaxium." Maul pointed at a holo board with calculation, "-and to find hyperspace routes that can be used for nefarious purposes."

"Should we stop them?"

"No my dear, we are here for fuel. I was dreaming that you were one of the little rebellion scum. So hopeful. So loyal to their cause that they're willing to die to it. I admire their persistance and premediation when it comes to destruction. But the Emporer won't fall just with some simple stones."

"Is that our overall objective to cause the Empire to fall?"

"No, our objective is unrefined coaxium. So we can survive."

"But how do we get it, it's guarded. You could just slice everyone to bits and we'd be off."

Maul's eyes closed. Qi'ra realized she was imobilized as she tried to move. Maul's blood eyes opened quickly and Qi'ra realized she could move again. She massaged her biceps.

"What did you see?"

"There's a hatch if we follow these tunnels wherein, if we can catch the tanks, we can leave quietly."

"But how do we head back with twenty thirty bottles of unrefined coaxium? We need a specific temperature which we only have at our shuttle?"

Maul looked at her with a death glare. He threw a little modulator at her that contained coordinatates. "I calculated everything for you. Just follow directions, please. Stop talking so much. If you don't get yourself killed. I will end you if this doesn't go right."

Qi'ra felt cold as she saluted and ran back to the sewer. She waited a bit for patrols before climbing her way back out of the hatch from where they had come. Here she did run into some troopers who were playing with some marbles. It seemed to be something local.


	9. Chapter 9

_I'm stuck_ , Qi'ra realized from behind her rocky hiding place. Maul was probably already at the rendevous point with the goods waiting for her. _If I mess this up, I won't have a home to go to anymore_ , Qi'ra thought to herself _, I could end up dead or worse. I don't-_

 _=/=_

 _Qi'ra could see her hands slipping through his - Han_

 _He had left her behind and promised her he would come back for her._

 _The same image passed through. Her parents. Her aunt_

" _Just service for a little while more Qi'ra. Either your parents will come back or the business will pick up and the money will come in and I'll buy you back. I promise."_

 _She remembered watching the same aunt begging before using that money to buy herself spices._

 _No one is coming. No one is ever coming_

 _=/=_

There was a loud roar and a beast screached.

"Oh no he's got the seargent. Assemble men. Now dive, dive dive!"

Qi'ra was bewildered to see the whole squadron of storm troopers activating their jet packs and diving into the canyon. She couldn't believe her luck. She would need to train harder so next time she would be prepared for a situation like this. If they found out she was here, then the trading ability and authenticity of Crimson Dawn as a collective would be questioned. It would shift their legality from welcome to hunted.

She had only just won her prize. Qi'ra could not give up. She didn't have a home to go home to so she would create a place where she and others could be safe.

Her stride lengthened as she neared the landing dock and smoothly sprinted inside. She moved to the cockpit and activated the ship's cloaking device. And not a moment too soon as some storm troopers jetted past the enterence to the cave. Qi'ra opened a comm channel and Maul's impatience was apparent.

"It's about time, my dear."

"My liege there is a fresh squadron of stormtroopers patrolling."

"So did you give us away? Will I have to find a new head to fit atop the body that is Crimson Dawn?"

A thrill shot through Qi'ra as she imagined his lightsaber cleaving through her. She paused to level her voice so she could match his cool indifference. "I'm afraid not. Or at least, not yet, my lord."

Maul patched through the coordinates and Qi'ra maneavered the ship through the mines. There were jagged crags and crevices that required her to spin and dip around. Occassionally a stalagtite or stalagmite would break lose and she would narrowly miss banging against it. Once a storm trooper flew next to her close enough to touch the ship or even feel the breeze generated by the ship, but the person diverted his engine upward and Qi'ra was home free.

Maul was irritable when Qi'ra finally found him. Although on the bright side, all the containers of coaxium were untouched. Meaning, they hadn't exploded. Qi'ra opened the ship's hatch so Maul could load in the cargo. They both quickly set the containers in the ship's cooling area before Maul took the pilot's chair.

Qi'ra took the breathe that she had been holding in.

"So-"

Maul busied himself by running something through the navi computer. "They're going to ask us for codes up ahead."

"And then-"

"I'll leave at the First Light. You can go on gambling, gaming, whatever-you-would-like as long as the profit is mine."

Qi'ra shrugged. "The sounds like you want some entertainment after all of this business, my lord. I am well equipped to service your every need. Name it."

"Perhaps."

Qi'ra's eyes met his for the first time. "You acceot my invitation, my lord."

"Are you looking for a weakness, little Tooka? I could kill you whenever I want. I really could. I could mar your pretty face so much no one would want to look at you anymore."

"How would I find out more about my lord otherwise? I could serve you better."

"You know nothing of service yet, my dear. I should teach you that more. But I do have other ventures. I'm sure the Pykes have need of you still. Solve their little dilemna for me, then I'll take your offer fully."


End file.
